Investigating the role of correlated neural activity in pair bonding using prairie voles

项目摘要 浪漫关系是人类经验的基本组成部分，对我们的健康有积极的贡献。 通过降低身体和精神疾病的风险来改善健康和福祉。配对关系的一个关键特征-- 更普遍地说，关系是高度互惠的，随着不断的反馈而不断发展 从另一个人。然而，在成对联结中，神经活动的相互依赖性仍然存在， 研究不足，部分原因是缺乏适合实验室的哺乳动物， 它们的交配对象一个很有前途的度量解释方面的相互作用和它的进展动态 社会背景是脑间同步或相关，其中两个个体的神经动力学 当它们相互作用时变得更加相似。间脑相关量表与关系变量;它是 在社交活动中，恋人比陌生人更容易被吸引。我发现脑间的关联 在草原田鼠中也很明显，配对的田鼠在与它们的配偶相互作用时表现出更强的相关性。 而不是和陌生人在一起。在这个建议中，我将利用现代光学工具来检测和功能 操纵草原田鼠的脑间联系。在我的第一个目标中，我将进行动物内比较， 确定脑间关联如何在离散行为中变化，并作为配对键合的函数。我会 使用纤维光度法进行同时实时钙记录在内侧前额叶皮层的 互动动物，并使用监督和无监督机器学习进行彻底的行为 交互的注释。使用各种分析方法，包括广义线性模型，我 将描绘出配对联结、亲和行为和脑间关联之间的关系。在我的第二 目的，我将在mPFC中使用同步实时光遗传学刺激来测试是否诱导了间脑 相关性可以促进成对键的形成。这些结果将共同描述 在不同的行为过程中，作为键状态的函数，并测试中脑的功能 对键形成的相关性。这项工作有助于确定治疗方法是否 以脑间关联为目标将有利于治疗自闭症等损害社会依恋的疾病 谱系障碍。

PROJECT SUMMARY Romantic bonds are a fundamental part of the human experience, positively contributing to our health and well-being by decreasing risk for physical and mental illness. A key feature of pair bonds - and social relationships more generally - is that they are highly reciprocal, evolving as a function of ongoing feedback from the other individual. Yet the interdependent nature of neural activity within pair bonding remains understudied, due in part to the dearth of laboratory-amenable mammals that form selective attachments with their mating partners. One promising metric for explaining aspects of interaction and its progression in dynamic social contexts is interbrain synchronization, or correlation, in which the neural dynamics of two individuals become more similar to each other as they interact. Interbrain correlation scales with relational variables; it is stronger in romantic partners than strangers during social interaction. I have found that interbrain correlation is also evident in prairie voles and that pair bonded voles show stronger correlations when interacting with their partner than with a stranger. In this proposal, I will leverage modern optical tools to detect and functionally manipulate interbrain correlation in prairie voles. In my first aim, I will perform within-animal comparisons to determine how interbrain correlation varies across discrete behaviors and as a function of pair bonding. I will use fiber-photometry to conduct simultaneous real-time calcium recordings in the medial prefrontal cortex of interacting animals, and use supervised and unsupervised machine learning to conduct thorough behavioral annotations of the interaction. Using a variety of analytical approaches, including generalized linear models, I will delineate the relationship between pair bonding, affiliative behavior and interbrain correlation. In my second aim, I will use synchronized real-time optogenetic stimulation in the mPFC to test whether induced interbrain correlation can facilitate pair bond formation. Together these results will characterize the occurrence of interbrain correlation during distinct behaviors and as a function of bond state and test the function of interbrain correlation in pair bond formation. Such work is instrumental for determining whether therapeutic approaches targeting interbrain correlation will be beneficial for treating disorders that impair social attachment like autism spectrum disorders.